Pentagon to Send Nearly 600 More U.S. Troops to Iraq

Edited by Pavel Jacomino
2016-09-29 15:31:26

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Washington, September 29 (RHC-Xinhua) -- Nearly 600 more U.S. troops will be dispatched to Iraq in coming weeks to reinforce Iraqi government forces to take back the city of Mosul from the extreme Islam State (the IS), Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Currently there are more than 4,600 U.S. soldiers authorized to deploy in Iraq. The additional forces will enhance the authorized level to about 5,200.

These troops will not spearhead the attack, said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. Instead, they will provide logistics support, training and advice for the Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi government forces also got Apache attack helicopters and a HIMARS rocket system. Large amounts of funding were sent to the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, local media reported, quoting Pentagon sources as saying that an offensive in Mosul might begin in October.

Analysts blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the Islamic State, on the United States, which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.



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